Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) was indicted Wednesday on more than a dozens federal charges surrounding his unsuccessful run for Philadelphia mayor in 2007.

The 11-term Democrat and four associates were indicted on 29 federal counts, including bribery, money laundering, falsification of records and multiple counts of bank fraud, among other charges.
Fattah faces 16 charges related to conspiracy, mail fraud and falsification of records, each carrying sentences up to 20 years in prison. Another six charges, including bank fraud, carry a combined 100 years in prison if he’s convicted.

The longtime lawmaker maintained his innocence while speaking with reporters on Wednesday and insisted he will run for reelection next year.

“I will be on the ballot in my district,” said Fattah, who appeared relaxed when speaking after his indictment was released.

“We’ve moved from an investigation to an actual allegation,” Fattah said at the Capitol. “I think I’ll stand by my original position, which was, as an elected official, I’ve never been involved in any illegal activity or misappropriation of funds.”

“We’ll have to live with the judgment that they make,” he added, referring to his constituents.

Just a few weeks ago, Fattah was photographed on Air Force One giving a hug to Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama. Fattah traveled with Obama to Philadelphia, where the president gave a speech on criminal justice reform.

The White House on Wednesday declined to comment on the charges facing Fattah but said Obama did not know about the impending indictment at the time of the Philadelphia trip.

Fattah, a senior appropriator who serves as the ranking member of the committee’s Commerce and Justice departments subpanel, stepped down from that position within hours of the announcement Wednesday.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell said Fattah and the others “embarked on a wide-ranging conspiracy involving bribery, concealment of unlawful campaign contributions and theft of charitable and federal funds to advance their own personal interests.”

The DOJ alleges that Fattah borrowed $1 million from a wealthy donor during his 2007 mayoral bid, returning $400,000 in unused funds and devising a scheme to repay the remaining $600,000 using charitable and federal grants filtered through a non-profit — the Educational Advancement Alliance — created and headed by Fattah.

The DOJ also alleges that Fattah used funds from both his mayoral and congressional campaigns to pay down his son’s student loan debts. The repayments, totaling roughly $23,000, were paid by a political consulting company that had received the money directly from the campaigns, the DOJ alleged.

Questioned about allegations he steered funds toward his son’s student loan debt, Fattah said, “It is true that I’ve helped millions of young people go to college,” citing his other legislative efforts.

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) was indicted Wednesday on more than a dozens federal charges surrounding his unsuccessful run for Philadelphia mayor in 2007.

The 11-term Democrat and four associates were indicted on 29 federal counts, including bribery, money laundering, falsification of records and multiple counts of bank fraud, among other charges.
Fattah faces 16 charges related to conspiracy, mail fraud and falsification of records, each carrying sentences up to 20 years in prison. Another six charges, including bank fraud, carry a combined 100 years in prison if he’s convicted.

The longtime lawmaker maintained his innocence while speaking with reporters on Wednesday and insisted he will run for reelection next year.

“I will be on the ballot in my district,” said Fattah, who appeared relaxed when speaking after his indictment was released.

“We’ve moved from an investigation to an actual allegation,” Fattah said at the Capitol. “I think I’ll stand by my original position, which was, as an elected official, I’ve never been involved in any illegal activity or misappropriation of funds.”

“We’ll have to live with the judgment that they make,” he added, referring to his constituents.

Just a few weeks ago, Fattah was photographed on Air Force One giving a hug to Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama. Fattah traveled with Obama to Philadelphia, where the president gave a speech on criminal justice reform.

The White House on Wednesday declined to comment on the charges facing Fattah but said Obama did not know about the impending indictment at the time of the Philadelphia trip.

Fattah, a senior appropriator who serves as the ranking member of the committee’s Commerce and Justice departments subpanel, stepped down from that position within hours of the announcement Wednesday.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell said Fattah and the others “embarked on a wide-ranging conspiracy involving bribery, concealment of unlawful campaign contributions and theft of charitable and federal funds to advance their own personal interests.”

The DOJ alleges that Fattah borrowed $1 million from a wealthy donor during his 2007 mayoral bid, returning $400,000 in unused funds and devising a scheme to repay the remaining $600,000 using charitable and federal grants filtered through a non-profit — the Educational Advancement Alliance — created and headed by Fattah.

The DOJ also alleges that Fattah used funds from both his mayoral and congressional campaigns to pay down his son’s student loan debts. The repayments, totaling roughly $23,000, were paid by a political consulting company that had received the money directly from the campaigns, the DOJ alleged.

Questioned about allegations he steered funds toward his son’s student loan debt, Fattah said, “It is true that I’ve helped millions of young people go to college,” citing his other legislative efforts.

These guys keep making the mistake of thinking everyone is as dumb as their constituency. The Republican crooks have to be more sophisticated.

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This one managed to embarrass the FBI, the Marines and the entire Italian American community.
Well, actually I lied about the community part. Those wacky ginzos re-elected him even after it was obvious he was going to jail.

On April 28, 2014, Grimm was charged by federal authorities with 20 counts of fraud, federal tax evasion, and perjury. On December 23, 2014, he pleaded guilty to a single count of felony tax fraud, and "acknowledged committing perjury, hiring illegal immigrants, and committing wire fraud." After initially vowing to retain his seat, Grimm announced on December 30, 2014, that he would resign from Congress effective January 5, 2015. On May 5, 2015, Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. won the special election to replace Grimm. On July 17, 2015, Grimm was sentenced to eight months in prison for tax evasion.

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) was indicted Wednesday on more than a dozens federal charges surrounding his unsuccessful run for Philadelphia mayor in 2007.

The 11-term Democrat and four associates were indicted on 29 federal counts, including bribery, money laundering, falsification of records and multiple counts of bank fraud, among other charges.
Fattah faces 16 charges related to conspiracy, mail fraud and falsification of records, each carrying sentences up to 20 years in prison. Another six charges, including bank fraud, carry a combined 100 years in prison if he’s convicted.

The longtime lawmaker maintained his innocence while speaking with reporters on Wednesday and insisted he will run for reelection next year.

“I will be on the ballot in my district,” said Fattah, who appeared relaxed when speaking after his indictment was released.

“We’ve moved from an investigation to an actual allegation,” Fattah said at the Capitol. “I think I’ll stand by my original position, which was, as an elected official, I’ve never been involved in any illegal activity or misappropriation of funds.”

“We’ll have to live with the judgment that they make,” he added, referring to his constituents.

Just a few weeks ago, Fattah was photographed on Air Force One giving a hug to Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama. Fattah traveled with Obama to Philadelphia, where the president gave a speech on criminal justice reform.

The White House on Wednesday declined to comment on the charges facing Fattah but said Obama did not know about the impending indictment at the time of the Philadelphia trip.

Fattah, a senior appropriator who serves as the ranking member of the committee’s Commerce and Justice departments subpanel, stepped down from that position within hours of the announcement Wednesday.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell said Fattah and the others “embarked on a wide-ranging conspiracy involving bribery, concealment of unlawful campaign contributions and theft of charitable and federal funds to advance their own personal interests.”

The DOJ alleges that Fattah borrowed $1 million from a wealthy donor during his 2007 mayoral bid, returning $400,000 in unused funds and devising a scheme to repay the remaining $600,000 using charitable and federal grants filtered through a non-profit — the Educational Advancement Alliance — created and headed by Fattah.

The DOJ also alleges that Fattah used funds from both his mayoral and congressional campaigns to pay down his son’s student loan debts. The repayments, totaling roughly $23,000, were paid by a political consulting company that had received the money directly from the campaigns, the DOJ alleged.

Questioned about allegations he steered funds toward his son’s student loan debt, Fattah said, “It is true that I’ve helped millions of young people go to college,” citing his other legislative efforts.